The skies above churned with incessant black clouds, and streaks of lightning tore through them with booming roars. An even thicker bolt was gathering overhead—a lightning strike the color of imperial yellow, as thick as a water vat. Its power was easily twice that of the preceding crimson flash…

Feeling that overwhelming might, Liang Xiaoke felt despair creeping in. Such colossal power—even he might not be able to withstand it. But could he simply stand by and watch the mighty lightning shatter the Blood Corpse he had painstakingly refined into dust?

At this most critical juncture, Liang Xiaoke suddenly snatched the Azure Dragon Jade Pendant hanging from his neck and hurled it directly at the descending bolt of lightning…

With a sharp crack, the yellow lightning slammed into the Jade Pendant, unleashing a thunderous sound accompanied by a faint, resonant dragon's cry.

The water-vat-thick lightning was instantly broken down by the Azure Dragon Jade Pendant into several smaller arcs. Some struck Gongsun Lu’s body, continuing to temper her physical form, and from her lips issued forth a sound of intense pleasure…

Seeing that the Jade Pendant had intercepted this heavenly thunder, Liang Xiaoke finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just then, the fourth bolt descended—a stark white flash that struck the Jade Pendant fiercely. The Pendant, which had just kindled a spark of hope in Liang Xiaoke, shattered completely…

A faint, pale-green dragon shadow soared into the sky, seemingly attempting to flee toward the Ninth Heaven, but it was intercepted by the white lightning and driven straight into Gongsun Lu’s body. Even diminished, the lightning’s force sent her flying backward, her sound of exquisite pleasure instantly morphing into one of agony…

Fissures spider-webbed across the surface of her body, threatening to split her apart, yet the dragon shadow driven into her flesh began to emit rays of azure light, ceaselessly mending her physical form. Simultaneously, the Wood Spirit Qi between heaven and earth surged toward her in a frenzy…

Just as the repair was nearing completion, the fifth lightning strike descended from the cloud-tops—a colossal blue bolt, easily several zhang thick, resembling a celestial dragon plunging straight from the heavens.

“Are you kidding me, Heaven? If you granted me hope, why destroy it?” Liang Xiaoke cursed aloud, but he could only watch helplessly as the massive lightning bolt hurtled toward him and the prone Gongsun Lu…

Under such tremendous power, given their current conditions—his state and Gongsun Lu’s body—they would certainly be atomized. He was unwilling, but what use was unwillingness now?

Within a radius of several thousand li, at least ten powerful figures were observing this spectacle from afar. Such a Heavenly Tribulation Lightning Descent had not been seen in many years. After all, even Soul Immortals were now exceedingly rare, let alone True Immortals. Every observer was filled with confusion: Who, precisely, was ascending to the rank of True Immortal? Who was facing the Tribulation? No master of the True Immortal realm had appeared in this world for nearly a thousand years…

Even during the Golden Age three centuries prior, which produced so many Martial Gods, not a single True Immortal had emerged. Yet now, someone was undergoing the tribulation…

Tribulation was the sole prerogative of a True Immortal.

To refine one’s soul entirely through the power of lightning, forging a genuine physical body…

Gongsun Sheng, Gongsun Bai, and the ancient relics of the Gongsun family, alongside Xiao Cangtian and Bing Ming, stared dumbly at the mass of black clouds overhead, yet none dared to step forward.

The Heavenly Tribulation—how could mortals resist it? Even a Martial Saint, though far removed from the common scope of Martial Saints, dared not place themselves in harm’s way.

Could the might of Heaven and Earth truly be slighted?

Only one silhouette charged wildly toward the nexus of the lightning. The speed of this lone rider and his mount was pushed to the absolute extreme; even the powerful Xiao Cangtian could scarcely discern the identity of the person plunging into the heart of the tribulation zone.

Upon seeing the massive water-blue lightning in the sky and the barely breathing Liang Xiaoke crumpled on the ground, Ye Jingyu did not hesitate. He leaped from the back of Ni Bo, soaring directly toward the water-blue bolt…

“Break for me, damn it!” Ye Jingyu roared, channeling his Tyrant Origin Power to its maximum, slamming it toward the water-blue lightning in the sky.

“Jingyu…” Hearing that familiar voice, Liang Xiaoke looked up only to see Ye Jingyu recklessly throwing himself at the lightning, causing him to cry out in alarm. But after managing only two syllables, he froze completely, his mouth wide open, his eyes wide, even the pores across his body fully dilated, watching the scene unfolding above with an expression of utter disbelief…

The enormous bolt of lightning was utterly obliterated by a single punch from Ye Jingyu. Not only was it destroyed, but the wild, tyrannical lightning energy was absorbed by his body and by the Heavenly Venerable Blade strapped to his back. Only a tiny fraction of the residual energy managed to strike Gongsun Lu, completing her final tempering…

Thwack… A glob of saliva slipped from Liang Xiaoke’s lip. What was this? The tribulation lightning that had nearly annihilated him—and he scattered and absorbed it so effortlessly? Did he expect people to keep living after that?

Even if the young man was a master of electricity, this was too much! This wasn't ordinary lightning; this was the Five Elements Tribulation, and the most formidable bolt among them! He couldn't even stop the first three, and this brat casually shattered the final one. How was he supposed to live with himself now? He was supposed to be the elder brother!

Ye Jingyu instantly felt a wisp of purple mist materialize in the Thunder Spot on his right palm—the Essence of Thunder. Though still minute, his palm was no longer empty. Realizing this, Ye Jingyu was overjoyed. He had thought forging nine Golden Cores would be impossibly difficult, but now it seemed otherwise.

Slaying sacred beasts, gathering spirit herbs, and even absorbing tribulation energy to advance his cultivation—was this the true wonder of the Chaos Body?

This cultivation method was truly infuriatingly strange…

Ye Jingyu muttered another curse about its strangeness internally, then immediately turned and rushed toward Liang Xiaoke. Liang Xiaoke was in terrible shape after being struck; who knew his condition now?

It was at that exact moment that a series of crack-crack-crack sounds emanated from Gongsun Lu’s body beside Liang Xiaoke. Both Liang Xiaoke and Ye Jingyu looked over simultaneously to see her body beginning to split apart, starting from her forehead…

“No way…” Seeing this, Liang Xiaoke’s mouth gaped open another inch. Had his hard-won Blood Corpse finally been destroyed?

Had everything he done been for nothing?

(One million words! Unconsciously, War Soul has reached one million words and achieved the top spot in original works. Next month, we aim for the bookstore's number one spot. This month, Star will rest a bit, updating less. For the remaining days, it will be three updates daily, and next month, we go all out for the top spot!)